He ultimately devised a series of exercises and training techniques, and engineered all the equipment, specifications, and tuning required to teach his methods.
[6] Pilates was originally a gymnast and bodybuilder, but when he moved to England in 1912, he earned a living as a professional boxer, a circus-performer, and a self-defence trainer at police schools and Scotland Yard.
During that involuntary break, he began to develop his concept of an integrated, comprehensive system of physical exercise, which he himself called "Contrology".
[11] After World War I, Pilates returned to Germany and collaborated with experts in dance and physical exercise such as Rudolf Laban.
Well-known dancers such as George Balanchine, who arrived in the United States in 1933, and Martha Graham, who had come to New York in 1923, became devotees and regularly sent their students to the Pilates for training and rehabilitation.
[citation needed] Joseph Pilates wrote several books, including Return to Life through Contrology and Your Health, and he was also a prolific inventor, with over 26 patents cited.